In a significant development for planetary defense, NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch its Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission. The agency announced on February 21st the awarding of a task order, valued at approximately $100 million, through the NASA Launch Services II contract. The launch, utilizing a Falcon 9 rocket, is slated for as early as September 2027 from a Florida launch site.
NEO Surveyor will be positioned at the Earth-sun L-1 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth towards the sun. Its primary instrument, a 50-centimeter diameter telescope equipped with infrared detectors, will enable the detection and characterization of near-Earth objects, determining both their orbits and sizes. The mission's ambitious goal is to identify two-thirds of NEOs at least 140 meters in diameter within five years, and a congressionally mandated goal of 90% of such objects within 10 to 12 years.
This contract award follows the mission's successful critical design review on February 6th, clearing the path for the next phases of assembly and testing. Currently, the instrument enclosure is undergoing rigorous environmental testing at the Johnson Space Center. Later this spring, this and other spacecraft components will be integrated at the Space Dynamics Lab in Utah for further testing.
The urgency of NEO detection was highlighted recently by the asteroid 2024 YR4. While initial orbital calculations suggested a small but non-zero chance of impact in December 2032, further observations significantly reduced the risk. As of February 21st, the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory calculated only a 0.36% chance of impact.